AT&T leverages Fiserv for its walk-in wireline bill payment system

AT&T (NYSE: T) on Tuesday signed an agreement with Fiserv to expand its CheckFreePay walk-in bill payment for its wireline and wireless customers.

Through this new agreement, AT&T Long Distance, Mobility and U-verse customers in 22 states will now be able to pay their monthly bills in person at thousands of CheckFreePay retail agent locations.

With most utility companies offering consumers to pay their bill via the phone and online, it seem that in-person bill payment is a relic of the past. However, a recent study by the Aite Group found that "of the nearly 25 percent of U.S. households who are unbanked or underbanked, nearly 77 percent pay at least one monthly bill in-person."

Any bill paid at these locations will be processed to AT&T via Fiserv's electronic payment network and then credited to the customer's account in real time.

While the agreement is new, AT&T has had a relationship with Fiserv, which claims to be the largest processor of walk-in payments in the United States, for 16 years.